Clinical course (Pleurisy)

Perhaps most typically the primary effusion proclaims its presence with malaise and discomfort in breathing.   The course of the illness is generally favourable.

The temperature subsides in the space of 2 weeks or so, the fluid is absorbed, function returns and the patient " recovers ". Death in the acute phase of the effusion is rare so that opportunities for post-mortem
examination are not frequent. In some of the subjects which have been examined, tubercles have been found on the pleural surface, and sometimes there has been evidence of dissemination to other organs.